This invention relates to a method of bonding restructured meat, synonymously termed "formed meat," to a bone in order to simulate a natural cut of the same type of meat which contains a bone.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many patents have issued for processes to form restructured meat by cutting the meat into pieces which are then treated to cause protein to be released from the pieces and accumulate on the surface of such pieces so that when the pieces are placed together under appropriate conditions, protein-to-protein bonds will be formed which hold the pieces together and, in many processes, create a formed meat product which has the appearance and texture of a more expensive cut of the same type of meat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,677 utilizes a mechanical tenderizer to permit the extraction of muscle protein from meat that has been cut into cubes; combines the, therefore, adhesive-covered cubes of meat with thin wafers of frozen meat; massages or tumbles this combination, with the optional addition of unspecified amounts of salt and phosphate; presses this meat into a desired initial shape; wraps such pre-formed meat with a film-like material; freeze tempers this wrapped product such that it remains deformable; presses the product into a final desired shape; slices the product; and freezes the slices.
Two related patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,539,210 and 4,544,560, prepare chunks of lean meat; optionally tenderize such chunks, typically by using a rotary knife tenderizer having multiple blades; optionally add an unspecified amount of water-soluble salt or phosphate; optionally add fat particles to the lean chunks in a vacuum blender used for massaging; massage the meat at a temperature between 24.degree. F. and 38.degree. F. to produce a sticky protein exudate on the chunks; and simultaneously extrude a fat mass and the massaged meat through separate but adjacent extrusion heads to form a structured meat product of definite shape imparted by the extrusion heads.
The process of U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,514 invokes separating and removing individual muscles and adjacent muscle groups; removing at least a portion of the connective tissue from these individual muscles and adjacent muscle groups; aligning the muscle fiber of the individual muscles and adjacent muscle groups so that the muscle fiber directions of the individual muscles and adjacent muscle groups are essentially parallel to each other and extend in a longitudinal direction; optionally adding as a preferred binder a water solution of 0.5 percent by weight NaCl and 0.25 percent by weight sodium tripolyphosphate, although the patent also discloses the possibility of utilizing KCl and sodium pyrophosphate, trisodium phosphate, or the like; passing the fiber-aligned muscles and adjacent muscle groups through a plurality of cutting blades; and compressing and shaping the resultant product as desired.
In the process of U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,767 the surface cell structure of small pieces of poultry is broken by mechanical action; water-soluble molecularly dehydrated phosphate is added in the presence of NaCl, e.g., 1.75 percent NaCl and 0.5 percent phosphate; the pieces of poultry are pressed together; and this product is cooked. The preferable phosphate is a mixture of sodium tripolyphosphate and sodium pyrophosphate.
For the technique of U.S. Pa. No. 3,679,434 a substantial number of the pieces of meat weigh at least one-half pound. These pieces are injected with edible polyphosphate salt, with or without NaCl, to retard development of rancidity. (One example utilizes 1.5 percent NaCl and 0.5 percent sodium tripolyphosphate.) The pieces of meat are then mechanically worked to develop a tacky exudate on their surfaces and subsequently pressed together for cooking, or freezing and then cooking.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,294 mechanically tenderizes meat by vibration and/or friction during slicing. The resultant thin slices are thoroughly intertangled and formed into a restructured meat product. This technique is stated to release myosin (a type of protein), for binding, without using chemicals such as salt and phosphates.
In the process of U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,633 pieces of meat are impregnated with a curing composition which contains a source of phosphate ions. The meat is then cooked to "set" the meat protein. The pieces of meat are then coated with an "edible thermostatable heat-settable glue emulsion" which optionally includes starch--preferably, an uncooked starch such as potato starch, maize starch, and the like--to "act as [a]water-absorbing . . . [agent]which will bind any water which may be liberated during the heat-setting stage of the process and which would otherwise interfere with the binding process." The coated pieces of meat are then compacted and heated.
To extract myosin, the process of U.S. Pat. No. 4,377,597 uses an aqueous salt solution, preferably of 1 percent NaCl and 0.5 percent food grade phosphates. However, it may contain from 0.5 to 1.5 percent NaCl and "lesser concentrations of the food-grade phosphates". This is applied to a combination of strips and chunks of meat which are then formed into a desired shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,821,445 adds 0.5 to 3.5 percent salt by weight to grain-size pieces of meat; the meat is kneaded, shaped, and repeatedly frozen and defrosted.
No prior art patent, however, discloses or claims a process for attaching formed meat to a bone.